Card Game Apparatus, Computer Program, and Computer-Readable Recording Medium Having Computer Program Recorded Therein

The present application is a continuation application of International Application number PCT/JP2024/044961, filed on Dec. 19, 2024, content of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

The present invention relates to a card game apparatus, a computer program, and a computer-readable recording medium having the computer program recorded therein.

In some card games played in casinos, such as baccarat, a card is dealt face down such that the suit and score on the card surface is not seen, and a game participant then turns the card face up to determine the winner based on the suit and score on the surface of his or her card and those on the surface of the card of an opponent.

When turning over the card, the game participant performs a motion of slowly turning it over from an end (squeezing motion) such that the suit and score on the card surface can be gradually seen, while praying that he or she will win. Turning over the card slowly increases the sense of thrill due to the tension and excitement until the winner is determined, which is one of the most exciting parts of card games.

Patent Literature 1 describes a card game apparatus that enables such a card game to be played not with real cards but in simulation on a screen. This card game apparatus is provided with a touch panel as a display screen, and a user can perform the squeezing motion to a displayed card by sliding his or her finger on the touch panel.

Patent Literature 1: International Publication No. WO 2016/185548

Unfortunately, when a game is played with such a card game apparatus, for example, slight discomfort or difficulty in using a user interface, a user error in operation, or the like may cause the user to lose concentration and lose a feeling of excitement over the game.

For example, if operation is difficult or an operation method is difficult to understand when the user is about to perform the squeezing motion in an important phase of winning or losing the game, the feeling of the user may be brought down greatly.

Thus, an object of the present invention is to provide, in a card game apparatus that makes progress of a card game, such as baccarat, a user interface that enables a user to further enjoy the game.

A card game apparatus solving the above problem is a card game apparatus that makes progress of a card game in which a card with a design depicted on a front surface and indicating a card type is dealt face down from a dealer to a user and, when turning the dealt card face up, the user can perform a squeezing motion of turning from an end of the card, and that includes a storage device and a CPU connected to the storage device. The CPU executes displaying the card dealt to the user face down on a user card display screen on which a state at a side of the user is simulated, receiving a rotation instruction for the card through operation input to a predetermined input region disposed on the user card display screen, rotating the card by changing an orientation of the card in steps each time the rotation instruction is received, and displaying an icon promoting input of the rotation instruction and having a predetermined shape in the predetermined input region while rotating the icon to match a current orientation of the card.

Other problems and solutions disclosed in the present application are described in the section of the description of embodiments and the drawings.

According to the present invention, in the card game apparatus that makes progress of the card game, a user interface that enables the user to further enjoy the game can be provided.

Embodiments according to the present invention are described below in detail. The embodiments and modifications below are examples to explain the present invention, and the present invention is not limited only to the embodiments. The present invention can be modified in various ways as long as it does not depart from the gist of the invention. Furthermore, a person skilled in the art can adopt embodiments in which the elements described below are replaced by equivalent ones, and such embodiments are also included in the scope of the invention.

First, the terms used in the present application are explained.

“Baccarat” means a card game exemplified in the present embodiment, in which a user bets on the winner of the card game between a banker (bookmaker) and a player (customer). A dealer deals two or three playing cards to the banker and the player according to the rules of the game. One of the banker and the player whose first digit of the total number on the hand is closer to “9” wins.

“Bet” means predicting whether the banker or the player will win and placing a bet in correspondence with this win and loss prediction.

“Suit” means a mark recorded on the front surface of a card. For example, playing cards described in the present embodiment have four types of suits of spades, hearts, diamonds, and clubs.

“Score” means a numerical value represented by the number of suits or a picture displayed on the front surface of a card. The number of suits represents the score A (=1) or 2 to 10, and the type of the picture represents the score “J” (=11), “Q” (=12), or “K” (=13).

“Card type” means a combination of “suit” and “score” in the present specification because the card type of a card is identified by “suit” and “score” displayed on the card front surface, like “the ace of spades” and “the seven of hearts”.

“Squeezing motion” means a motion of turning over an end of a card lying face down such that the back surface can be seen while bending the card with the number at the end of the card hidden (in a real game, with the user hiding the number with his or her finger, in the present embodiment, by generating an image such that the number is not displayed) and making part of the score on the front surface visually recognizable. If the card has a rectangular shape, there are three types of squeezing motions: “diagonal squeezing” of turning over the card from a corner; “vertical squeezing” of turning over the card from the short side; and “horizontal squeezing” of turning over the card from the long side.

“Flip-over motion” means a motion of quickly flipping over a card so that the entire score on the front surface of the card can be seen, without performing the squeezing motion. Performing “squeezing motion” part way and then quickly flipping over a card is also referred to as “flip-over motion”.

Concerning “upward/downward orientation” of a card, the use of rectangular playing cards is assumed in the present embodiment, and one orientation defined by the design (arrangement of a displayed suit or picture) on the front surface is regarded as an upward orientation and the orientation rotated 180° in the card plane from the upward orientation as a downward orientation. If the card is seen on the back surface, “upward/downward orientation” cannot be distinguished between the upward orientation and the downward orientation. Note that the upward/downward orientation of the card front surface may also be incapable of being distinguished because some card types are vertically symmetrical; however, even in that case, either orientation is regarded as “upward orientation”.

“Rotation orientation” of a card means an orientation of the card determined by rotation that can be performed to a displayed card diagonally right-up, right-laterally, downward, diagonally left-down, left-laterally, and upward in steps in the card plane in the present embodiment.

1 FIG. 1 FIG. 100 100 100 is an external perspective view of a card game apparatusaccording to one embodiment of the present invention. The card game apparatusexemplified inis a game apparatus that is installed in casinos, amusement facilities, or the like and that makes progress of baccarat being an example of the card game. The user can play baccarat with the card game apparatus.

1 FIG. 100 101 101 102 102 103 104 105 106 c c As illustrated in, the card game apparatusincludes a dealer display devicethat displays a dealer card display screenon which a state at the dealer's side is simulated, a user display devicethat displays a user card display screenon which a state at the user's side is simulated, operation buttons, a card reading device, a banknote insertion device, and a ticket dispensing device.

101 100 102 100 1 FIG. 1 FIG. The dealer display deviceis disposed on a back side of the card game apparatus(the upper right side in) while facing a front side (the lower left side in), and the user display deviceis disposed on the front side while inclining slightly toward the front side from an upward orientation. Note that the user plays the game, sitting on a chair installed in front of the card game apparatus(or standing).

101 102 100 Each of the dealer display deviceand the user display deviceis composed of a touch panel, and the user can input an instruction to the card game apparatusby performing operation, such as a touch, a swipe, and a flick, on the screen.

101 102 102 100 102 102 In this way, by separating a display device into the dealer display deviceand the user display deviceand installing the user display deviceon the front side of the card game apparatus, the user can perform the squeezing motion and the like, described later, through the touch panel of the user display devicewhile looking at the cards displayed on the user display deviceat his or her side and can thus enjoy the game with a sense close to baccarat using real cards.

103 100 103 102 The operation buttonsare physical buttons for inputting an instruction from the user to the card game apparatus. In the present embodiment, the operation buttonsare used to perform the flip-over motion to a card and are installed on both the right and left sides of the user display deviceto accommodate right-handed and left-handed users.

104 105 106 104 106 The card reading deviceis a card reader reading information from a magnetic card or an IC card owned by the user. The banknote insertion deviceis a device reading an inserted banknote or ticket. The ticket dispensing deviceis a device dispensing a ticket or a banknote to the user. These devicestoare used for payment of a stake in betting, payment of a dividend when the game is won, and the like and are not related to the progress of the game, and thus detailed description is omitted.

2 FIG. 2 FIG. 100 100 200 202 203 204 206 208 is an internal hardware configuration diagram of the card game apparatusaccording to the present embodiment. As illustrated in, the card game apparatusis configured by having, as main hardware, a computerincluding a CPU, a memory, a storage device, an image processor, and a peripheral device interface.

204 204 100 202 204 204 100 The storage deviceis composed of a computer-readable, non-transitory recording medium, such as ROM, an SSD, and a hard disk. In the storage device, a computer program for implementing the function of the card game apparatusand data are recorded, and the CPUwrites and reads the data to and from the storage devicewhile executing the computer program recorded in the storage device, thereby implementing the function as the card game apparatus.

204 100 204 204 Note that, if the storage deviceis an SSD or a hard disk, the computer program for performing the function as the card game apparatusmay be installed from a portable recording medium, such as a DVD and flash memory, into the storage device. Alternatively, the storage devicemay include a drive device capable of reading data from a DVD or flash memory, and the computer program read from the DVD, flash memory, or the like may be executed.

206 101 102 101 102 202 c c The image processorgenerates graphic images (the dealer card display screenand the user card display screen) to be displayed on the dealer display deviceand the user display deviceunder control of the CPU.

208 202 103 104 105 106 The peripheral device interfaceenables communications between the CPUand peripherals, such as the operation buttons, the card reading device, the banknote insertion device, and the ticket dispensing device, and a communication network, such as the Internet.

3 FIG. 3 FIG. 100 100 300 301 303 304 305 306 320 321 322 323 324 325 326 327 310 is a block diagram illustrating a main functional configuration of the card game apparatusaccording to the present embodiment. As illustrated in, the card game apparatusincludes a bet processor, a card distributor, a card rotator, a generation outputter, a squeezing processor, a win and loss processor, a rotation instruction receiver, a card orientation display, a flick instruction receiver, a flick processor, a squeezing motion receiver, a flip-over instruction receiver, a flip-over processor, a squeezing motion promoter, and a data storage.

300 310 The bet processorreceives a target of a bet (whether the user bets on the player or the banker) and an amount of the bet by the user and stores the bet details in the data storage.

301 310 The card distributordetermines the card types to be dealt to the player and the banker and stores the determined card types in the data storage.

304 300 102 102 304 101 101 c c The generation outputterdisplays the cards dealt to the user (the cards of the bet target of the user received by the bet processor) face down on the user card display screenof the user display device. Similarly, the generation outputterdisplays the cards dealt to an opponent, on which the user does not bet, face down on the dealer card display screenof the dealer display device.

13 FIG. 102 101 c c. illustrates a state where the cards dealt to the user and the cards dealt to the opponent are displayed respectively on the user card display screenand the dealer card display screen

320 102 320 112 114 102 320 112 114 c c 13 FIG. The rotation instruction receiverreceives a card rotation instruction through operation input to predetermined input regions disposed on the user card display screen. As illustrated in, the rotation instruction receiverreceives the rotation instruction by detecting a touch by the user to portions where card rotation iconsandare displayed (the predetermined input regions) on the user card display screen. Note that the rotation instruction receiverreceives the rotation instruction for the card displayed on the left side if the card rotation iconis touched and receives the rotation instruction for the card displayed on the right side if the card rotation iconis touched.

303 310 303 The card rotatorrotates a card in the card plane in response to the rotation instruction from the user and stores the rotation orientation in the data storage. In the present embodiment, the card rotatorrotates the card by changing the card orientation in steps each time the rotation instruction is received.

310 318 303 Note that the data storagestores setting information (rotation orientation setting data) specifying each card orientation changed in steps and the order of the change, and the card rotatorrotates the card by sequentially changing the card orientation to each orientation specified in this setting information each time the rotation instruction is received.

11 FIG. 318 318 102 c illustrates the rotation orientation setting data. The rotation orientation setting dataspecifies that the card orientation changes in the order of the diagonal right-up orientation, the right-lateral orientation, the downward orientation, the diagonal left-down orientation, the left-lateral orientation, and specifies the upward orientation, and an angle for each orientation. These angles are specified as angles being clockwise measurements of an orientation from one short side of the card toward the other short side relative to the upward orientation of the user card display screen(an orientation from the front side of the screen toward the back side) as a reference (0°) when a rectangular card is rotated in the plane about the barycentric position (center) of the card as the rotation axis.

112 114 303 102 112 114 c Each time the user touches the card rotation iconor, the card rotatorrotates the card clockwise by changing the orientation from the one short side toward the other short side of the rectangular card displayed on the user card display screensequentially to the diagonal right-up orientation, the right-lateral orientation, the downward orientation, the diagonal left-down orientation, the left-lateral orientation, and the upward orientation. The card can of course be rotated repeatedly. If the card rotation iconoris touched when the card is in the upward orientation, the card changes to be in the diagonal right-up orientation.

In this way, when the user rotates a card on the screen to perform the squeezing motion, the card orientation is changed in steps, which allows the user to easily determine the card orientation with no stress and to concentrate on enjoying the game. If no limitation is imposed on the card orientation, the user can freely determine the card orientation, which is seemingly better; however, on the contrary, with a too high degree of freedom, the user needs to make fine adjustment of the card angle every time, which may disturb concentration on the game.

Note that the card orientations (especially, the diagonal right-up orientation and the diagonal left-down orientation) in the present embodiment are determined such that, when the user performs the squeezing motion, it is as difficult as possible to identify the card type.

18 18 FIGS.A andB As an example, how the front surfaces are seen when the diagonal squeezing is performed to cards is described with reference to.

18 FIG.A 18 FIG.B 18 FIG.A 1 illustrates a state where the entire card front surfaces of the six of diamonds and the seven of diamonds are displayed, andillustrates a state where, from a state where the back surfaces of these cards are displayed, the diagonal squeezing is performed from corners to the positions of solid lines Sillustrated into reveal part of the designs on the front surfaces.

18 FIG.A 18 FIG.A As illustrated in, the card with the six of diamonds has such a design that three vertically-aligned diamond marks are displayed in each of two longitudinal rows, and the card with the seven of diamonds has such a design that one diamond mark is further displayed on an upper or lower side in the central row.illustrates a case where the cards are dealt in such an orientation that the diamond mark in the central row on the seven of diamonds is on the upper side.

18 FIG.B With the diagonal squeezing performed as in, two among the three diamond marks aligned in one of the rows are visible on both the cards with the six and seven of diamonds.

Thus, the diamond mark in the central row is not visible at this stage, so that the user cannot confirm whether the card is the six of diamonds or the seven of diamonds, which can provide the sense of thrill to the user.

1 18 FIG.A When the diagonal squeezing is performed from the corners to the positions of broken lines S′ illustrated in, the diamond mark in the central row finally starts to be visible, so that whether it is the six of diamonds or the seven of diamonds can be confirmed.

How these diamond marks are visible changes depending on the card rotation orientation (squeezing direction). If the user can freely determine the rotation orientation, marks on the front surface may be visible too easily depending on the orientation, and the sense of thrill in squeezing may not be gained.

Alternatively, it may occur that handling goes wrong during squeezing and the card is squeezed in an unintended direction, which spoils enjoyment of the sense of thrill in squeezing. Squeezing a card in exactly the same direction every time is also difficult, which increases likelihood that the squeezing motion cannot be performed as the user wishes.

100 Thus, in the card game apparatusof the present embodiment, the card rotation orientation is preliminarily limited to specific orientations (diagonal right-up orientation, right-lateral orientation, downward orientation, diagonal left-down orientation, left-lateral orientation, and upward orientation) and is set to such an orientation (angle) that, when the user performs the squeezing motion, it is as difficult as possible to identify the card type.

This mode can more reliably provide the sense of thrill in the squeezing motion to the user, allowing the user to further enjoy the game.

321 112 114 The card orientation displaydisplays icons (card rotation iconsand) promoting input of the rotation instruction and having a predetermined shape while rotating the icons to match current card orientations, in the aforementioned predetermined input regions (the regions disposed to receive the card rotation instruction).

14 14 FIGS.A and b 112 114 illustrate a state where the orientations of the card rotation iconsandchange to match current card rotation orientations.

2 114 114 2 114 14 FIG.A 14 FIG.B For example, a card Bdisplayed on the right side inis in the right-lateral orientation, and, at this time, the card rotation iconis also displayed in the right-lateral orientation. If the user touches the card rotation icononce in this state, the card Brotates in the downward orientation, and the card rotation iconalso rotates in the downward orientation accordingly as illustrated in.

This mode can prevent the user from losing track of the card orientation while rotating the card repeatedly (for example, wondering whether the right or left side is up if the card is displayed laterally), losing concentration, and losing a feeling of enjoying the game. This allows the user to concentrate on enjoying the game with no unnecessary burden when performing the squeezing motion.

324 324 102 The squeezing motion receiverreceives the squeezing motion by the user. To be specific, the squeezing motion receiverdetermines whether the squeezing motion is performed by detecting a touch and a slide on the touch panel composing the user display device.

305 102 c The squeezing processordisplays the card displayed face down on the user card display screenin such a manner that the card is turned over gradually in accordance with the squeezing motion.

304 101 c After the user finishes turning over the two cards dealt to him or her, the generation outputterturns the two cards, displayed face down on the dealer card display screen, of the opponent face up one by one.

325 325 103 The flip-over instruction receiverreceives a flip-over instruction to display the card face up without performing the squeezing motion or by interrupting the squeezing motion. The flip-over instruction receiverreceives the flip-over instruction by detecting that the user presses either of the right and left operation buttons.

326 101 326 101 102 c c c The flip-over processorreverses either one of the cards displayed face down so that the card faces up in response to the flip-over instruction. To be specific, if the cards of the opponent are displayed face down on the dealer card display screen, the flip-over processorreverses either one of the cards face up. If no cards of the opponent are displayed face down on the dealer card display screen, either one of the cards displayed face down on the user card display screenis reversed face up.

103 326 101 c. That is, each time the user presses the operation buttononce, the flip-over processorreverses the cards face up one by one, giving priority to the cards of the opponent displayed face down on the dealer card display screen

101 102 103 c c This mode allows the user to make progress of the game in a short period of time without performing the squeezing motion. That is, immediately after the dealer distributes cards, two cards on the dealer card display screenand two cards on the user card display screenare displayed face down, and, if the user presses the operation buttonfour times in a row in this state, these cards are all turned face up sequentially.

103 101 103 101 c c A press on the operation buttonfirst turns the cards on the dealer card display screenface up. Thus, the user can also enjoy the game by, for example, pressing the operation buttontwice, confirming the card types of the two cards on the dealer card display screen, and then performing the squeezing motion to the two cards dealt to the user.

103 101 103 101 c c Alternatively, the user can also enjoy the gamy by pressing the operation buttononce to turn only one of the cards on the dealer card display screenface up, then performing the squeezing motion to either one of the two cards dealt to the user to confirm the card type, pressing the operation buttononce again to turn the second card on the dealer card display screenface up, and then performing the squeezing motion to the second card dealt to the user to confirm the card type.

100 103 103 In this way, in the card game apparatusof the present embodiment, the cards of the opponent can be turned face up first by pressing the operation buttonwhile the cards of the user can be turned face up first if the operation buttonis not pressed, so that the user can turn the two cards dealt to the user and the two cards dealt to the opponent face up in any order. This can provide various ways of enjoying the squeezing motion to the user.

322 322 102 c The flick instruction receiverreceives a flick instruction to return a card distributed to the user to the dealer. To be specific, the flick instruction receiverdetermines whether the flick instruction is given by detecting flick operation to a card displayed on the user card display screen. The card to which the flick operation is performed may be a card displayed face down or a card displayed face up.

323 101 c In response to this flick instruction, the flick processormoves the card subjected to the flick operation to the dealer card display screenand displays the card face up.

101 c For example, the user performs the flick operation if confirming the card type by performing the squeezing motion to a card distributed to the user and then strongly thinking that he or she does not want to keep this card at hand because the card type is undesirable. Alternatively, if wanting to see the front surface of a card distributed to the user immediately without performing the squeezing motion, the user performs the flick operation to the card that he or she wants to see, whereby that card is moved to the dealer card display screento allow the user to see the front surface.

327 117 102 c The squeezing motion promoterdisplays information promoting start of the squeezing motion (squeezing motion promotion icon) on the user card display screenif the user does not start the squeezing motion after a lapse of a predetermined period of time after the dealer distributes cards to the user.

15 FIG. 117 102 327 117 100 c illustrates a state where the squeezing motion promotion iconis displayed on the user card display screen. In the case of the present embodiment, if the user does nothing for, for example, five seconds after the dealer distributes cards to the user, the squeezing motion promoterdisplays the squeezing motion promotion icon. This mode can naturally promote the squeezing motion for a user who is unfamiliar with the operation of the card game apparatusand allows the user to enjoy the game.

327 117 100 Note that, after the user performs the squeezing motion once, the squeezing motion promotermay not display the squeezing motion promotion iconeven if no operation is performed for the predetermined period of time or longer thereafter. This mode can avoid providing useless information to a user who knows how to operate the card game apparatusand allows the user to enjoy the game with concentration.

306 When all the cards are turned face up, the win and loss processordetermines the winner between the player and the banker according to the rules of baccarat, and, if the side on which the user side bets wins, performs dividend payment processing.

310 204 202 310 310 311 312 313 314 315 316 317 318 311 312 313 318 314 315 316 317 The data storageis provided in the storage device. When the CPUperforms processing for implementing each of the above-described functional units, the data storageis referred to, or data is written and updated. In the data storage, display position data, card image data, card shape data, bet data, distributed card data, card rotation icon data, squeezing motion promotion icon data, and the rotation orientation setting dataare stored. Among these, the display position data, the card image data, the card shape data, and the rotation orientation setting dataare pre-set fixed data, and the bet data, the distributed card data, the card rotation icon data, and the squeezing motion promotion icon dataare variable data changed as the game progresses.

4 FIG. 311 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of the display position data.

4 FIG. 1 3 1 3 311 204 101 101 101 102 311 a b As illustrated in, display position coordinates of each of three cards dealt to the player (hereinafter referred to as cards Pto P) and three cards dealt to the banker (hereinafter referred to as cards Bto B) on the display screens in the display position dataare preliminarily stored in the storage device. Note that the display position coordinates may be any that can identify a card display position, such as barycentric position coordinates of a card or position coordinates of a specific corner. If the barycentric position coordinates, which do not change the position even if the card is rotated, are used, a common card display position can be set for a plurality of rotation orientations of the card. Each card is displayed on any of a player regionand a banker regionof the dealer display deviceand a display region of the user display device. If the display position coordinates in the display position dataindicate relative position coordinates from a specific position in each region, position coordinates common to these regions can be set.

5 FIG. 5 FIG. 312 312 204 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of the card image data. As illustrated in, to the card image data, an address (or a file name) of image data indicating each of front surface designs of a total of 52 card types being combinations of the 4 types of suits and the 13 types of scores and a card back surface design is pre-set. The card back surface design is vertically and horizontally symmetrical, and card orientations cannot be known on the back surface. Note that the image data themselves of the cards are preliminarily stored in the storage device.

6 FIG. 6 FIG. 313 313 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of the card shape data. As illustrated in, to the card shape data, data (configured by, for example, polygonal data) indicating a card outline shape in a squeezed state for each value (as described later, 0 to 100 in the present embodiment) of the degree of squeezing to a card in each of cases where the rotation orientations in displaying the card are diagonal right-up, right-lateral, downward, diagonal left-down, left-lateral, and upward is set. Note that the shape data corresponding to the degree of squeezing is stored for each rotation orientation of a card because, as described later, display of the card can be rotated diagonally right-up, right-laterally, downward, diagonally left-down, left-laterally, and upward, and, a portion and a direction in which the squeezing motion is performed to the card differ depending on the rotation orientation.

7 FIG. 7 FIG. 314 314 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of the bet data. As illustrated in, the bet datacontains the bet target (the player or the banker) and the amount of the bet by the user.

8 FIG. 8 FIG. 315 315 1 3 1 3 3 3 3 3 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of the distributed card data. As illustrated in, the distributed card datacontains the following items for each of the cards Pto Pdealt to the player and the cards Bto Bdealt to the banker. Note that the cards Pand Bare handled when the third card is dealt according to the rules of baccarat, and, at the beginning of the game, the items for the cards Pand Bare not set (blank).

“Card type” indicates a combination of the suit (spades, clubs, diamonds, hearts) and the score (A, 2 to 10, J, Q, K), and its default value is blank.

“Upward/downward orientation” indicates whether the card is displayed in the upward orientation or the downward orientation, and its default value is “Upward” (upward orientation).

“Front/back state” indicates whether the card is displayed face up or down, and its default value is “Back” (face down).

102 1 6 1 “Rotation orientation” indicates in which rotation orientation the card is displayed. The card displayed on the user display devicecan be rotated, for example, diagonally right-up, right-laterally, downward, diagonally left-down, left-laterally, and upward in steps on the screen on an instruction from the user. In the present embodiment, the rotation orientation is indicated in six steps, Dto D, and its default value is D.

102 “Degree of squeezing” indicates a degree of squeezing in the squeezing motion performed by the user by swiping the card displayed on the user display device, for example, by using a numerical value from 0 to 100. The value “0” of “Degree of squeezing” indicates a state where no squeezing motion is performed, and the value “100” indicates a state where the maximum squeezing is performed. If the squeezing motion is further performed from the state with the value “100”, “Front/back state” of the card becomes “Front”. The default value of “Degree of squeezing” is “0” but may be a predetermined value corresponding to a slightly turned state, such as “5” or “10”. Note that the steps 0 to 100 for the degree of squeezing are merely examples, and the number of steps may be set such that changes in a card image with the squeezing motion are subtle enough to be seen continuously.

102 Concerning “Squeezing operation region”, for each card displayed on the user display device, data identifying a region where the squeezing motion can be performed is stored. Note that, in the present embodiment, the value of “Squeezing operation region” is set for each value of “Rotation orientation” of a card, which can handle cases of different regions where the squeezing motion is performed depending on the orientation of the displayed card.

9 FIG. 9 FIG. 9 FIG. 316 316 112 114 112 114 112 114 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of the card rotation icon data. As illustrated in, to the card rotation icon data, image data indicating the design of the card rotation iconsandis pre-set for each of the diagonal right-up orientation, the right-lateral orientation, the downward orientation, the diagonal left-down orientation, the left-lateral orientation, and the upward orientation. Note that, in the example illustrated in, a spade mark is displayed in the centers of the card rotation iconsandbut is unrelated to the suit of the card dealt to the user. The picture displayed in the centers of the card rotation iconsandmay be anything, for example, a picture of an animal or a character, an abstract picture, such as an arrow, a letter, such as a Chinese character or an alphabet, or the like.

10 FIG. 10 FIG. 317 317 117 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of the squeezing motion promotion icon data. As illustrated in, to the squeezing motion promotion icon data, image data indicating the design of the squeezing motion promotion iconis pre-set.

11 FIG. 318 318 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of the rotation orientation setting data. The rotation orientation setting dataspecifies the angle when the card is in each of the diagonal right-up orientation, the right-lateral orientation, the downward orientation, the diagonal left-down orientation, the left-lateral orientation, and the upward orientation, and the order of the change.

12 FIG. 100 is a general flow diagram illustrating an overview of a flow of processing executed from the start until the end of one round of play of a baccarat game in the card game apparatus.

12 FIG. 400 As illustrated in, first, at Step, bet processing is performed in which the user places a bet.

202 204 102 202 314 310 To be specific, the CPUreads bet screen data preliminarily stored in the storage deviceand displays a bet screen on the user display device. On this bet screen, the user can select whether to bet on the banker or the player and can set a stake amount. If the user places a bet on the bet screen, the CPUstores details of the bet by the user (the banker or the player on which the bet is placed and the amount of the bet) as the bet datain the data storage.

402 101 101 101 a b Next, at Step, card distribution processing is performed in which cards to be dealt to the banker and the player are determined and displayed in the player regionand the banker regionof the dealer display device.

202 1 2 1 2 1 1 2 2 1 3 1 4 2 1 4 1 2 1 2 1 2 1 2 310 To be specific, the CPUrandomly determines card types of the two cards Pand Pto be dealt to the player and the two cards Band Bto be dealt to the banker while avoiding duplication. To be specific, for example, a card typeof the card Pis first determined among all 52 card types by a random number, and a card typeof the card Pis then determined among 51 card types excluding the determined card typeby a random number. Thereafter, similarly, a card typeof the card Band a card typeof the card Bare sequentially determined among the card types excluding the determined card types by random numbers. Then, the determined card typestoof the cards P, P, B, and Bare stored as the values of the item “Card type” for the respective cards P, P, B, and Bin the data storage.

202 101 101 101 a b Then, the CPUdisplays the two cards face down in each of the player regionand the banker regionof the dealer display device.

404 101 102 Next, at Step, user distributed card display processing is performed in which the cards of the banker or the player on which the user bets are moved from the dealer display deviceto the user display deviceand are displayed while facing down.

13 FIG. 101 101 102 404 b is a diagram illustrating a state where the user bets on the banker and the cards are moved from the banker regionof the dealer display deviceto the user display deviceand are displayed through the user distributed card display processing at Step.

13 FIG. 13 FIG. 13 FIG. 13 FIG. 101 101 101 101 1 2 102 1 2 102 a b b As illustrated in, the display screen of the dealer display deviceis provided with the player regionand the banker region. In, on the assumption that the user has placed a bet, display of the cards in the banker regionon the banker side is erased, and the two cards Band Bof the banker are displayed face down on the user display devicewith only ends (in, corners at lower ends in the drawing) turned face up. Note that, in, the cards Band Bare displayed in the diagonal right-up rotation orientation on the user display device, and how the rotation orientation of a card is determined is described later.

13 FIG. 112 114 1 2 102 112 114 1 2 112 114 As illustrated in, the card rotation iconsandcorresponding to the two cards Band Bare displayed on the user display device. Note that the card rotation iconsandare displayed diagonally right-up to match the rotation orientation of the cards Band B. Each time the card rotation iconoris touched, the corresponding card sequentially changes to be in each of the diagonal right-up orientation, the right-lateral orientation, the downward orientation, the diagonal left-down orientation, the left-lateral orientation, and the upward orientation.

14 FIG.A 14 FIG.B 2 114 114 2 114 2 114 2 illustrates a state where the card Brotates right-laterally after the user touches the right card rotation icononce. In this case, the card rotation iconchanges to be in the right-lateral orientation to match the rotation orientation of the card B. If the user touches the card rotation iconagain, the card Brotates downward as illustrated in. Then, the card rotation iconchanges to be in the downward orientation to match the rotation orientation of the card B.

13 14 14 FIGS.,A, andB 13 FIG. 14 FIG.A 14 FIG.B 102 1 2 2 2 As illustrated in, a folded position of an end of a card displayed on the user display devicechanges among a corner (the cards Band Bin), a long side (the card Bin, and a short side (the card Bin) depending on the rotation orientation of the card, and a lower portion of the card on the screen is always displayed in a turned state.

102 As described later, the squeezing motion to a card is performed through swipe operation in the vicinity of the folded point in the lower portion of the card. Thus, display of the cards with their lower portions turned at the time of distributing the cards to the user display deviceindicates, to the user, the positions where the squeezing motion is performed and also has an effect of promoting the squeezing motion.

117 102 117 117 117 117 100 c 15 FIG. If the user does not perform the swipe operation for the predetermined period of time, the squeezing motion promotion icon(the information promoting start of the squeezing motion for the user) is displayed on the user card display screenas illustrated in. The squeezing motion promotion iconis first displayed in a first position X in the vicinity of the position where the lower portion of the card is preliminarily turned and, after a lapse of a certain period of time (for example, 0.5 seconds), smoothly moves toward a second position Y that is above the first position by a predetermined distance. Then, the squeezing motion promotion iconis erased for a time, is displayed in the first position X again, and moves to the second position Y. The squeezing motion promotion iconis displayed in this manner repeatedly until the user starts the squeezing motion. If the user starts the squeezing motion, the display of the squeezing motion promotion iconends. This mode can naturally promote the squeezing motion for a user who is unfamiliar with the operation of the card game apparatusand allows the user to enjoy the game without difficulty.

16 FIG. 202 404 is a flow diagram illustrating processing executed by the CPUin the user distributed card display processing at Stepin more detail.

500 202 112 114 116 102 First, at Step, the CPUdisplays the card rotation iconsand, an all-card disclosure icon, and other decorative designs in predetermined positions on the user display device.

502 202 314 7 FIG. Next, at Step, the CPUrefers to the bet dataillustrated into determine whether the user bets on the player or the banker. In the following description, assume that the user bets on the banker.

504 1 2 315 8 FIG. Next, at Step, for each of the cards Band Bof the banker, on which the user bets, the upward/downward orientation (“Upward” or “Downward”) is determined by a random number and is recorded as the value of the item “Upward/downward orientation” in the distributed card dataillustrated in.

506 1 2 315 8 FIG. Next, at Step, for the cards Band Bof the banker, on which the bet is placed, each value of the items “Card type”, “Upward/downward orientation”, and “Rotation orientation” is read by referring to the distributed card dataillustrated in. Note that, as described later, the rotation orientation when the first squeezing motion is performed in previous play is stored in the item “Rotation orientation”.

508 312 315 313 315 1 2 102 5 FIG. 6 FIG. 13 14 14 FIGS.,A, andB Next, at Step, by referring to the card image dataillustrated in, image data A corresponding to the value of the item “Card type” read from the distributed card dataand image data B corresponding to “Back surface” are read. Furthermore, by referring to the card shape dataillustrated in, shape data corresponding to the default value (for example, “0”) of “Degree of squeezing” in “Rotation orientation” read from the distributed card datais read. As described above, the value “0” of “Degree of squeezing” indicates the state where no squeezing motion is performed, and, to be specific, indicates a state where an end of the card is turned slightly to the extent that the suit and the score design on the card front surface is not seen, like the cards Band Bdisplayed on the user display devicein.

510 512 508 Next, at Step, the image data A is rotated in accordance with the value of “Rotation orientation”, and, if the value of “Upward/downward orientation” is “Downward”, the upward/downward orientation is reversed. Then, at Step, the image data A and the image data B are pasted on the front surface and the back surface of the card shape data read at Stepto generate a card model.

514 102 Next, at Step, a display screen displaying the generated card model with the card back surface visible is generated and output to the user display device.

112 114 315 315 316 Furthermore, the orientations of the card rotation iconsandare changed to match “Rotation orientation” read from the distributed card data. To be specific, images corresponding to “Rotation orientation” read from the distributed card dataare read from the card rotation icon dataand displayed.

112 114 500 112 114 315 Note that, at the time of displaying the card rotation iconsandat Step, the images of the card rotation iconsandcorresponding to “Rotation orientation” read from the distributed card datamay be displayed.

404 406 12 FIG. After the user distributed card display processing at Stepinis performed, card rotation processing is then performed at Step.

112 114 1 2 102 112 114 1 2 114 1 2 2 114 13 FIG. 14 FIG.A 14 FIG.B As described above, the card rotation iconsandcorresponding to the two cards Band Bare displayed on the display screen of the user display device. Each time the card rotation iconoris touched, the orientation of the corresponding card Bor Bsequentially changes to each of the diagonal right-up orientation, the right-lateral orientation, the downward orientation, the diagonal left-down orientation, the left-lateral orientation, and the upward orientation. That is, if the right card rotation iconis touched with the card diagonal right-up like the cards Band Billustrated in, the right card Brotates clockwise to a right-laterally oriented state as illustrated in. If the card rotation iconis touched from this state, the card is in a downward oriented state as illustrated in.

112 114 202 1 2 315 1 2 512 102 16 FIG. In the card rotation processing, each time the card rotation iconoris touched, the CPUupdates, for the corresponding card Bor B, the value of the item “Rotation orientation” in the distributed card datafrom a current value to a next value of the rotation orientation (for example, if the current value is D, it is updated to D). Then, the displayed card is erased, and, similar to the processing at Step() in the user distributed card display processing, a card model corresponding to the updated rotation orientation is generated and displayed on the user display device.

202 112 114 315 Then, the CPUalso changes the orientations of the card rotation iconsandto match “Rotation orientation” read from the distributed card data.

1 2 1 3 1 3 315 Note that the user can perform the rotation operation on either of the two cards Band B, and the rotation orientation of a card to which the squeezing motion is performed first (the rotation orientation at the time of performing the squeezing motion) is stored in the item “Rotation orientation” for all the cards Pto Pand Bto Bin the distributed card data.

102 This allows the rotation orientations of the cards displayed on the user display devicewhen a next game is played to be the same as the rotation orientation of the card to which the squeezing motion is performed first in a current game, regardless of whether a bet is placed on the player or the banker.

A portion of a card where the squeezing motion of the card is started changes depending on the card orientation among a corner, a long side, and a short side of the card, and users, especially those accustomed to playing the game, often have a preference as to which portion of a card is squeezed first. In that case, when playing the first game, the user needs to rotate the cards in a preferred orientation if the cards are not dealt in an orientation where the squeezing motion can be performed from a preferred portion.

In contrast, in the present embodiment, in the user distributed card display processing in next play, the cards can be dealt in the same rotation orientation as that of the cards set by the user in current play, that is, in an orientation matching the user's preference, so that it is unnecessary for the user to perform the rotation operation on the cards in each round of play.

406 408 102 112 114 408 406 After the card rotation processing at Stepis performed, card squeezing processing is then performed at Step. In the card squeezing processing, a state where a card displayed on the user display deviceis gradually turned over in accordance with the squeezing motion by the user is displayed (that is, squeezing display). Note that, if the squeezing motion to a card is detected without the card rotation iconsandtouched, the card squeezing processing at Stepis performed to the card without the rotation processing at Stepperformed.

117 102 c 15 FIG. If the user does not perform the squeezing motion for the predetermined period of time, the squeezing motion promotion iconis displayed on the user card display screenas illustrated in.

408 In the card squeezing processing at Step, flip-over processing of turning a card face up immediately without squeezing or by interrupting the squeezing is also performed. First, the flip-over processing is described.

103 In the flip-over processing, each time the user presses the operation button, cards facing down are displayed face up one by one.

101 101 101 c c c At this time, if a card of the opponent is displayed face down on the dealer card display screen, the card is displayed face up. If there are a plurality of cards face down on the dealer card display screen, either one of the cards selected in a predetermined order (for example, a card placed on the left side on the dealer card display screenis first selected, or random selection is made) is displayed face up.

101 102 102 101 102 c c c c c If no cards of the opponent are displayed face down on the dealer card display screen, a card displayed face down on the user card display screenis displayed face up. If there are a plurality of cards face down on the user card display screen, similar to the case of the dealer card display screen, either one of the cards selected in a predetermined order (for example, a card placed on the left side on the user card display screenis first selected, or random selection is made) is displayed face up.

116 101 102 202 412 c c If the all-card disclosure iconis touched, the flip-over processing is performed to all the cards displayed on the dealer card display screenand the user card display screen. If a condition for distributing a third card is met, the third card is also immediately distributed and displayed face up. Then, the CPUjumps to win and loss determination processing at Step. This processing can be performed even during the card squeezing motion.

103 202 101 315 312 101 102 315 312 c c c To be specific, if detecting that the operation buttonis pressed, the CPUdisplays cards displayed face down on the dealer card display screenface up one by one, referring to “Card type” in the distributed card dataand the card image data. If no cards are displayed face down on the dealer card display screen, cards displayed face down on the user card display screenare displayed face up one by one, referring to “Card type” in the distributed card dataand the card image data.

116 101 102 315 c c If a touch to the all-card disclosure iconis detected, the cards displayed on the dealer card display screenand the user card display screenand the third card are all displayed face up. For the card displayed face up, “Front/back state” in the distributed card datais updated to “Front”.

Note that a state where a card is being turned over from the back side to the front side may be displayed with an animation as if the squeezing motion is performed to increase the sense of realism close to a game using real cards.

Next, details of the card squeezing processing are described.

17 FIG. 202 is a flow diagram illustrating details of processing executed by the CPUin the card squeezing processing.

202 1 2 First, the CPUdetermines whether the user performs the squeezing motion to the card Bor B.

102 202 202 600 To be specific, the touch panel composing the user display deviceis configured to, if detecting touch operation on the screen, supply coordinate information of the touch position to the CPU, and the CPUdetermines whether touch operation is performed on the basis of whether the coordinate information of the touch position is supplied from the touch panel at Step.

600 602 600 If it is determined at Stepthat touch operation is performed, the coordinate information of the touch position is acquired at Step. On the other hand, if it is determined that no touch operation is performed, the processing at Stepis repeated.

604 606 1 2 315 1 2 1 2 604 606 600 Next, at Step, it is determined whether the touch position varies continuously for a certain period of time. If it is determined that the touch position varies continuously, it is determined at Stepwhether the position where the touch starts (touch start position) is contained in the item “Squeezing operation region” for the card Bor B, referring to the distributed card data. If the position is contained in “Squeezing operation region”, it is determined that the squeezing motion is performed to the card Bor B. However, if the item “Front/back state” for the card Bor Bindicates front, the squeezing motion is invalid because it indicates that the card facing up is swiped. If negative determination is made at Stepor, or if it is determined that the squeezing motion is invalid, the procedure returns to Step.

606 608 315 Assume that it is determined that the squeezing motion is performed to either card at Step(the card to which the squeezing motion is performed is hereinafter referred to as “card of interest”). Next, at Step, the value of the item “Degree of squeezing” for the card of interest in the distributed card datais increased or decreased in accordance with a difference between an initial touch position and a current touch position supplied from the touch panel. To be specific, if the touch position varies upward (in a squeezing direction), the value is increased by “1”. If it varies downward (in a squeezing return direction), the value is decreased by “1”. With this, if the card of interest is swiped upward, the degree of squeezing is increased as the squeezing motion progresses, and, if the swipe operation is performed downward, the degree of squeezing is decreased as the squeezing motion is withdrawn. Note that the increase and decrease range of “Degree of squeezing” may be greater as the speed of the squeezing motion (swipe speed) is faster, in accordance with the speed.

610 510 102 16 FIG. Then, at Step, the displayed card of interest is erased, and similar to the processing at Step() in the user distributed card display processing, a card model corresponding to “Degree of squeezing”, “Rotation orientation”, and “Upward/downward orientation” after the update is generated and displayed on the user display device. This allows display of the card of interest to be updated in accordance with the squeezing motion and enables a state similar to squeezing of a real card to be reproduced with graphics, which can provide a true-to-life feeling similar to play with real cards to the user.

18 FIG.B Note that, in the card squeezing processing, when the cards are displayed, indices (suits and scores) drawn in the vicinities of the corners on the card front surfaces are not displayed as illustrated in. This prevents the card type from being known immediately after the squeezing motion is started.

100 610 315 If the value of “Degree of squeezing” reaches a maximum value (in the present embodiment) at Step, the card of interest is displayed face up, and the value of the item “Front/back state” in the distributed card datais updated to front. This ends the squeezing motion to the card of interest.

101 c. Note that the user can perform a flick motion at any timing, such as during, at the end of, or before the start of the squeezing motion. If the flick motion is performed, the card is returned to the dealer and displayed face up on the dealer card display screen

612 610 1 2 1 2 600 At Stepfollowing Step, “Front/back state” in the distributed card data is determined for the cards Band Bon the user side. If “Front/back state” for one or both of the cards Band Bon the user side is “Back” as a result, the procedure returns to Stepto continue the card squeezing processing.

612 1 2 614 616 315 1 2 614 On the other hand, if “Front/back state” for both the two cards is “Front” at Step, it is determined whether “Front/back state” for both the cards Pand Pon the dealer side is “Front” at Step. If “Front/back state” for one or both is “Back”, the card or cards are displayed face up at Step, “Front/back state” in the distributed card datais updated to “Front”, and the card squeezing processing ends. If “Front/back state” for both the cards Pand Pis “Front” at Step, the card squeezing processing ends as is.

17 FIG. 12 FIG. 410 After the card squeezing processing illustrated inends, the procedure then proceeds to Stepin.

410 1 2 1 2 402 408 At Step, on the basis of the scores of the cards Pand Pon the dealer side and the cards Band Bon the user side, which have been turned face up, it is determined whether a third card is dealt to each of the banker and the player according to the rules of baccarat. If it is determined that the third card is dealt, a card to be dealt is determined and displayed face down, and the card squeezing processing is performed, in the same manner as at Stepsto.

412 Next, at Step, the winner is determined according to the rules of baccarat on the basis of the scores of the two or three cards dealt to each of the banker and the player and turned face up.

414 Finally, at Step, if the side on which the user bets wins between the banker and the player, the payment processing of a dividend being the product of the amount of the bet multiplied by a predetermined multiplier is performed, and the current game ends.

102 102 (1) The squeezing motion to a card displayed on the user display deviceincludes the diagonal squeezing, the vertical squeezing, and the horizontal squeezing, and the start position of the squeezing motion is a lower portion of the card in any squeezing method. In the present embodiment, when a distributed card is displayed on the user display device, a lower portion of the card on the screen is displayed while being turned to the extent that the design on the card front surface is not seen. That is, a portion where the squeezing motion should be started is displayed while being turned, which can indicate, to the user, the position where the squeezing motion is performed and promote the squeezing motion.

Note that, if the start position of the squeezing motion is not a lower portion of a card because of the type of card game, custom, or the like, display of a portion, corresponding to the start position, of the card turned face up can obtain an effect similar to that of the present embodiment.

102 (2) The user may prefer any squeezing method among the diagonal squeezing, the vertical squeezing, and the horizontal squeezing as the squeezing motion to a card, and which squeezing method can be performed is determined by the rotation orientation of a distributed card. In the present embodiment, the card rotation orientation when the user first performs the squeezing motion is stored, and, in the next play, a card is displayed in the stored card rotation orientation on the user display device. Thus, if the user selects an orientation in which the preferred squeezing method can be performed in the first play when playing a plurality of games successively, a card is dealt in the rotation orientation matching the squeezing method preferred by the user from the next play onward. With this, the user can perform the squeezing motion in the preferred squeezing method without performing a card rotation motion in each round of play and can concentrate on the squeezing motion, which is the most exciting part of the game.

100 (1) The above-described embodiment has described a case where the card game apparatusis an apparatus for playing baccarat using playing cards; however, no such limitation is intended. The present invention can be applied to a card game that involves a squeezing motion of gradually turning over, from an end, a card distributed face down such that the back surface can be seen and in which the winner is determined in accordance with the score or other designs on the card front surface. Furthermore, cards used are not limited to playing cards, and application to a card game using other cards is possible.

(2) In the above-described embodiment, on the assumption that rectangular playing cards are used, the upward/downward orientation as the card orientation in the present invention is randomly determined when the card is distributed. However, regarding the card orientation, in the case of a game using, for example, square cards, any of the four orientations, upward, downward, left, and right, may be randomly determined. In the case of using, for example, hexagonal cards, any of the six orientations may be randomly determined. In the case of using circular cards, any orientation may be randomly determined. In short, if there are a plurality of orientations that cannot be distinguished just by looking at the back surface of a card, which orientation the card is distributed in may be randomly determined as the card orientation.

100 101 102 101 102 c c (3) In the above-described embodiment, the display device provided to the card game apparatusis separated into the dealer display deviceand the user display device; however, no such limitation is intended. A display device may be common to the dealer side and the user side, and the dealer card display screenand the user card display screenmay be displayed on a screen of the display device.

100 101 102 (4) The above-described embodiment has described a case where the card game apparatusis a stand-alone apparatus having the processing function necessary for the game and including the display devicesand(touch panels also serving as input devices); however, no such limitation is intended. The card game apparatus of the present invention may be configured, for example, as a server connected to a network, such as the Internet, the user may access the server from a computer terminal, the server may receive various operations on the user terminal via the network, and a display screen for the user may be transmitted from the server to the user terminal via the network.

Examples of the combinations of disclosed technical characteristics are described below.

a storage device; and a CPU connected to the storage device, in which displaying the card dealt to the user face down on a user card display screen on which a state at a side of the user is simulated, receiving a rotation instruction for the card through operation input to a predetermined input region disposed on the user card display screen, rotating the card by changing an orientation of the card in steps each time the rotation instruction is received, and displaying an icon promoting input of the rotation instruction and having a predetermined shape in the predetermined input region while rotating the icon to match a current orientation of the card. the CPU executes (1) A card game apparatus for making progress of a card game in which a card with a design depicted on a front surface and indicating a card type is dealt face down from a dealer to a user and, when turning the dealt card face up, the user can perform a squeezing motion of turning from an end of the card, the card game apparatus including:

the storage device stores setting information specifying each orientation, changed in steps, of the card and an order of the change, and the CPU rotates the card by sequentially changing the orientation of the card to each orientation specified in the setting information each time the rotation instruction is received. (2) The card game apparatus according to (1), in which

2 the card has a rectangular shape, the setting information specifies a diagonal right-up orientation, a right-lateral orientation, a downward orientation, a diagonal left-down orientation, a left-lateral orientation, and an upward orientation as the orientation of the card, and the CPU rotates the card so that an orientation from one short side of the card toward another short side is changed sequentially to the diagonal right-up orientation, the right-lateral orientation, the downward orientation, the diagonal left-down orientation, the left-lateral orientation, and the upward orientation each time the rotation instruction is received. (3) The card game apparatus according to (), in which

receiving a flick instruction to return the card distributed to the user to the dealer, and in response to the flick instruction, moving the card displayed on the user card display screen to a dealer card display screen on which a state at a side of the dealer is simulated and displaying the card face up. (4) The card game apparatus according to any one of (1) to (3), in which the CPU executes

receiving the squeezing motion by the user, and displaying the card displayed face down on the user card display screen in such a manner that the card is turned over gradually in accordance with the squeezing motion. (5) The card game apparatus according to any one of (1) to (4), in which the CPU executes

receiving a flip-over instruction to reverse, face up, the card displayed face down without performing or by interrupting the squeezing motion, and reversing the card face up in response to the flip-over instruction. (6) The card game apparatus according to (5), in which the CPU executes

the card game is baccarat, and displaying a card distributed to an opponent on which the user does not bet, on a dealer card display screen on which a state at a side of the dealer is simulated, and upon reception of the flip-over instruction, with a card of the opponent being displayed face down on the dealer card display screen, reversing the card face up, and, with no card of the opponent being displayed face down on the dealer card display screen, reversing, face up, the card displayed face down on the user card display screen. the CPU executes (7) The card game apparatus according to (6), in which

(8) The card game apparatus according to any one of (5) to (7), in which the CPU executes displaying information promoting start of the squeezing motion on the user card display screen in response to the user not starting the squeezing motion after a lapse of a predetermined period of time after the dealer distributes the card to the user.